


Pictures of You

by handahbear



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Blogging, Developing Relationship, Internet Boyfriends, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Skype
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1675904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handahbear/pseuds/handahbear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers runs an art blog. Bucky Barnes follows his blog. They become friends, which wouldn't be a problem, as long as Steve can stop himself from having too big of a crush on Bucky.</p><p>(Internet Boyfriends AU for Sarah.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [endofnight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/endofnight/gifts).



> For my better half, Sarah.

Steve didn’t quite get it. He knew he was good, he knew he had some measure of talent, but he was still surprised every time he logged into his account to see just how many people followed his work. Real, living, breathing people took the time to find his blog out of thousands of others like it and seemed to enjoy his work, if the feedback he got from his posts was anything to go by. 

As his blog grew, he tried to post at least one “serious” piece a week, along with several sketches or doodles. What had started out as an assignment to create an online look book for his art class had led to something much bigger than what he had originally anticipated, with a steadily growing number of followers.

Steve hadn’t received many messages from his followers. A few had led to longer conversations and eventually mutual follows and friendship, but most had been nice anonymous messages, most of which made him smile. It was nice to see others enjoying his work, especially given how much he liked it and how much effort he put into it.

Bucky’s first message came in the first few weeks in which he’d started the blog. It made Steve smile, and he readily answered the few questions he asked. (“What did you use to make that portrait of that elderly woman? It almost looks like ballpoint pen, but that can’t be right… Do you do all of these by hand, or are some done on a computer program? If they are, what do you use, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like these before…”)

Bucky responded with a few more questions and a short response to his reply that, yes, it had just been a blue ballpoint pen. (“How. How did you do that? You’re kidding, right? Just a ballpoint pen…that’s nuts. Amazing, but nuts.”)

After many messages were exchanged back and forth over a period of several weeks and Steve started following Bucky’s blog (a lot of music, some animals, a little of this, a little of that), the next logical step was to find another way to contact each other. The blog platform’s messaging system wasn’t ideal for holding longer conversations and after a brief conversation (“We’ve both established we’re not internet predators, right? Right.”), they exchanged phone numbers.

Those conversations quickly turned to other topics such as food (“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? What do you mean, you’re lactose intolerant? Man, that sucks.”), comic books (“I’m just saying, Batman shouldn’t even be counted as a superhero. He’s just a rich guy with a lot of cool toys.”), and movies (“The Little Mermaid is all well and good, but Beauty and the Beast is clearly better. I know, I know, ‘Under the Sea,’ but come on, how does that beat ‘Be Our Guest?’”)

Steve learned a lot about Bucky in a short amount of time, beyond what his blog was able to provide. Bucky was only a year older than Steve, lived somewhere in the U.S. (Steve guessed he could have Googled the area code on Bucky’s cell phone number but that would have been creepy), and had a passing interest in art (in his own words he “couldn’t draw a stick figure that even sort of looked like a person” but he liked seeing what other people could do.) He knew that Bucky didn’t exactly love his job, but there were good days and bad days, as in all things. He knew that Bucky had a dog and that he was good with animals. He also knew, almost by accident, that Bucky didn’t really have a family.

“Foster kid,” Bucky had told him when he’d asked if he’d had any brothers and sisters. Steve hadn’t known what to say to that and had waited to type a reply until he saw that Bucky was typing again. “Had a few sets of foster parents, bounced around a lot, ended up here.”

Steve started to type a response asking where here was, exactly, before deciding not to and instead typing, “I don’t have any, either. Siblings, I mean.” Their conversation progressed from there, and Steve hadn’t asked about Bucky’s parents or childhood yet.

From phone numbers they progressed to snapchat, at Bucky’s insistence. (“You’re kidding, right? You have a smart phone, don’t you? OK, download snapchat and add me. This’ll be fun.”) The first few pictures Bucky had sent him had been of his dog, or the view from his apartment, or of a bottle of beer held in his hand. But every time a new picture came through, Steve always worried that it would be a picture of Bucky instead.

Steve told himself to stop being stupid. It was just a picture, right? And it probably wasn’t even of his face. All he had to do was open it and find out. And besides, wasn’t he just a little bit curious? Didn’t he want to know what Bucky looked like? Not that it mattered, of course, he told himself. No matter what Bucky looked like, he’d want to be friends with him. He’d gone this long without seeing a picture of him and he liked him. He liked him a lot. He liked him rather more than he really wanted to admit.

He pressed down on the screen and waited. Steve nearly dropped his phone.

He hadn’t been expecting that. He decided against taking a screenshot (after all, he did have the option of replaying it), and after several retakes, sent back one of his own.

The text he received was almost immediate. 

Bucky: !!!!!!!!!!  
Steve: Is that a good thing?  
Bucky: Holy shit, Steve  
Steve: What?  
Bucky: I wouldn’t have sent a pic of my ugly mug if I’d known you look like that  
Steve: Me? What about you?  
Bucky: What about me?  
Steve: Look at you  
Bucky: I’m nothing to write home about  
Steve: You’re kidding, right?  
Bucky: Psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh  
Steve: Come on, don’t give me that  
Bucky: Psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh  
Steve: Please. You’re amazing.  
Bucky: Whatever  
Steve: I’m serious. You’re gorgeous  
Bucky: Knock it off, you’ll make me blush

Steve left it at that, although it almost frightened him how much he meant it. Bucky was gorgeous and amazing and many things more besides, not just in terms of physical appearance but in terms of personality. And much to Steve’s alarm, he was rapidly developing a rather large crush on Bucky.


	2. Chapter 2

The Skype date was actually Steve’s idea, although it wasn’t a date, not really. It was just a time that they had set aside to spend with each other and talk face to face, rather than over text. It wasn’t a date. Not really.

He couldn’t sit still. Bucky was supposed to call in fifteen minutes, and Steve couldn’t stop fidgeting. He’d already changed his shirt several times and even put on some cologne, although he was well aware that Bucky would only be able to see and hear him. But if this were a real date, that’s what he would have done. But this wasn’t a date, real or otherwise.

Bucky called on time and while Steve waited for the call to connect, he ran a hand through his hair one last time, just to make sure that it was perfect.

Steve was reasonably certain he was smiling like an idiot when Bucky’s face appeared on his screen. Bucky gave a little wave, smiling a little shyly, and Steve waved back, smile widening.

“Hey,” Bucky said after a moment. “You can hear me okay, right?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, everything’s coming through great.”

“Great,” Bucky smiled, relieved. “So, uh, hi. It’s a little weird seeing you and talking to you at the same time. I mean, not in a bad way, but…it’s new. Different.” After a brief pause, he added, “It’s nice. I like it.”

Steve smiled back, relaxing a little. “It’s a good weird. Kind of takes a little getting used to.”

“Am I not what you were expecting?” Bucky teased. “You’ve seen pictures of me. We’ve talked over the phone."

“I don’t know, I think you’d be even better in person,” Steve replied, grinning.

“What, this not good enough for you, Stevie?” 

He rolled his eyes. “You know you’re the only person that calls me that, right?”

“Correction: I’m the only person allowed to call you that. There’s a difference.”

“That must be it.”

“Are you saying you don’t love me enough to let me call you Stevie?” Bucky pouted.

Steve ignored the way his heart lurched when Bucky mentioned love and smiled instead. “Sure I do, Buck.” 

They talked for two hours. Steve saw Bucky laugh for the first time, and knew he was a goner. 

Over the course of their not-date, they came to realize some very important information: Bucky lived in the same city that Steve did. Not in the same neighborhood, but definitely the same city.

“How did I not know this before?” Bucky demanded.

“I honestly have no idea,” Steve replied. “I must’ve mentioned the college I go to.”

“I guess I just never made the connection.”

“I guess not.”

“You know what this means, though, don’t you?”  
“What?”

“This means it’s that much easier for the two of us to meet in person someday.”

Steve smiled widely. “All we’ve gotta do is get on the subway.”

Bucky nodded decisively. “We’ll plan a day to meet. Someday soon. Just you and me.”

“Just you and me,” Steve agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve couldn’t sleep the night before he was going to meet Bucky in person. He worried about every conceivable possibility: what if Bucky didn’t show up? What if Bucky didn’t like him once he met him? What if he was too obvious about how he really felt about him and he scared Bucky away? What if Bucky did like him the way he hoped he did, but was put off by the way he looked? But that was ridiculous, Bucky had seen pictures of him. But then again, he’d never seen more than his face, not really. And Steve had no illusions about how skinny he was. But maybe Bucky wouldn’t mind. Maybe Bucky did like him. What if Bucky did like him the way that he liked Bucky? What then?

Steve was early. He found a table in the corner of the diner and ordered coffee, needing something to hold onto. Cupping the mug between his hands, he alternated between watching the door and checking his phone, half afraid that maybe Bucky would cancel on him.

Bucky showed up right on time, smiling in a way that Steve was sure he should have been used to by now, having seen it in enough pictures, but that still managed to take his breath away a little each time. He stood up, smiling back at him, and couldn’t have been more surprised when Bucky hugged him.

He froze for a minute before hugging back, relaxing against Bucky. 

Bucky pulled back first. “Sorry, I should have asked-”

Steve shook his head, smiling. “No, it’s fine. Really.”

Afterwards, if anyone had asked Steve what they talked about, he couldn’t have told them. He remembered the way it felt to hug Bucky for the first time, and the easy way Bucky intertwined their fingers when they walked down the street. 

He remembered the way it felt when Bucky kissed him for the first time. 

Steve would never have admitted it to anyone, but it was exactly the way he’d imagined it. Maybe even a little better.


End file.
